Peter Gill

Adam Edwards

The perceived threat of 'transnational organized crime' to Western societies has been of huge interest to politicians, policy makers and social scientists over the last decade. This book considers the origins of this crime, how it has been defined and measured and the appropriateness of governments' policy responses. The contributors argue that while serious harm is often caused by transnational criminal activity - for example, the trafficking in human beings - the construction of that criminal activity as an external threat obscures the origins of these crimes in the markets for illicit goods and services within the 'threatened' societies. As such, the authors question the extent to which global crime can be controlled through law enforcement initiatives, and alternative policy initiatives are considered. The authors also question whether transnational organised crime will retain its place on the policy agendas of the United Nations and European Union in the wake of the 'War on Terror'.

Perspectives on Global Security

Transnational Organised Crime

In 1817, the Duke of Wellington—freshly back from beating Napoleon—found his old boots most uncomfortable when worn with new-fangled trousers. He instructed his shoemaker to make a simple modification to his footwear. . . and the rest is history. Told here with a unique blend of humor, anecdote, and fact, the history of the Wellington boot is also the history of the world. It is an epic tale, encompassing the rise and fall of empires, corporate piracy, fetish wear, transatlantic rivalry, and such iconic figures as Christopher Columbus, Beau Brummel, Princess Diana, and Kate Moss. Entertaining and edifying, this is the story of the boot that changed the world.

A Short History of the Wellington Boot

Gordon Hughes

Community-based crime control has become one of the principal policy responses to crime and disorder across western societies, and is regarded now as one of the keys to successful crime prevention and reduction. The aim of this book is to bring together findings from case studies of community-based crime control in England as a means of examining the prospects for this approach, its evolving relationship with criminal justice and social policies, and to assess the lessons internationally that can be drawn from this in the theory, research methods, politics and practice of crime control. At the same time the book advances an important new conceptual framework for understanding community-based crime control, focusing on an understanding of the diversity of control and preventative strategies, the locally particular conditions in which they are conducted, and the degree of choices open to local political actors involved in their conduct. Understanding diversity in this way is central to drawing lessons about the transferability of crime control theory and practice from one social context to another, avoiding the naïve emulation of practices in different contexts.

Adam Edwards

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